So when people breath in water, they die (drown) right? How come when people snort cocaine or breath in powdered sugar, they don’t die? The powder and stuff stays in the lungs forever right?
In: Biology
No. The particles are too large to penetrate the lungs deeply enough to suffocate, as a rule. If they can be expelled (and the respiratory system is highly effective at this) or absorbed, they may not even cause illness.
Obviously, it’s a matter of degree, but lung diseases like mesothelioma or black lung are caused by microscopic particles that are inert and inorganic, so they can’t be expelled or absorbed.
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